‘Gilmore Girls’: Who Is the Town Troubadour? Plus 8 Other Little Known Facts About Stars Hollow
Gilmore Girls was the flagship drama of the now-defunct WB television network before it moved to The CW in 2006 for its seventh and final season. Amy Sherman-Palladino’s story of a mother and daughter in a quirky small town still has a passionate fan base more than a decade after it went off the air.
The entire cast even returned for a Netflix revival – Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life – in 2016. And the famous “final four words” at the end left fans wanting even more. No one has ruled out a second revival yet. While fans patiently wait for more episodes about Lorelai (Lauren Graham), Rory (Alexis Bledel), and Emily (Kelly Bishop), here’s everything you wanted to know about the Town Troubadour in Gilmore Girls. Plus eight other little known facts about Stars Hollow.
Who is the Town Troubadour?
Fans will remember that the town of Stars Hollow itself was a major character in Gilmore Girls, thanks to the memorable townsfolk. One of those who frequently popped up was the Town Troubadour, played by Grant-Lee Phllips.
As Bustle notes, the Town Troubadour provided a musical and physical interlude between scenes. The camera would focus on the singer-songwriter for a few seconds before a major character walked past him.
Usually wearing a brown blazer and thick black glasses, Phillips would play an acoustic guitar while singing into a microphone held by a harmonica holder around his neck.
Stars Hollow has appeared in a number of movies and TV shows
As Screen Rant points out, the cast and crew shot the pilot episode of Gilmore Girls in Toronto. But, they shot the remainder of the series on the Midwest Street Backlot at WB Studios in Los Angeles.
The Midwest Street Backlot became the town of Stars Hollow, and it has appeared in a number of movies and TV shows over the years. This includes Pretty Little Liars, The Dukes of Hazzard, Hart of Dixie, Rebel without a Cause, Bonnie and Clyde, and The Music Man.
What happened to Dave Rygalski?
During season 3, Lane (Keiko Agena) started dating her bandmate Dave Rygalski (Adam Brody). But just as he was getting on Mrs. Kim’s (Emily Kuroda) good side, he suddenly left for college in California. The reason for Dave’s quick exit was because Adam Brody had landed the lead role in Fox’s The O.C.
The town hall meetings would last for hours
One of the most popular plot devices during Gilmore Girls’ seven seasons was the town hall meeting. The citizens of Stars Hollow regularly met to discuss the issues facing the town. However, according to Teen Vogue, those scenes took hours to film. Because of the number of characters and the amount of dialogue, filming could last from 7:00 am to 10:00 pm.
Jared Padalecki wasn’t the original Dean
Casting directors Jami Rudofsky and Mara Casey cast two different actors in the role of Dean before they met Jared Padalecki. When the other actors didn’t work out, Rodofsky and Casey decided to put the search on hold and focus on casting other characters. When they finally met Padalecki, they absolutely loved him. He was perfect for the part, but he’s technically Dean number three.
There was a closet full of flannel for Luke
Fans will remember that Luke (Scott Patterson) always wore a flannel shirt. Because his character was so in love with flannel, set costumer Valerie Campbell revealed that she had an entire closet full of flannel for Luke. However, Patterson only had one baseball cap that he wore and it had the habit of getting lost.
‘Gilmore Girls’ had a dialogue coach
Because Palladino’s scripts were loaded with tricky dialogue, the show hired someone to help the actors with their words. George Bell – who played Professor Bell at Yale – was the official Gilmore Girls dialogue coach. His job was to make sure the actors were speaking their lines at the proper pace. Sometimes, scenes were so difficult they would need as many as 20 takes.
Ryan Gosling auditioned for ‘Gilmore Girls’
Casting director Jami Rudofsky revealed at a Gilmore Girls fan fest panel in 2016 that she cast a “handsome young man” in an independent film. She later brought him in to read for a small part on Gilmore Girls, but his audition just didn’t work. When asked the name of the actor, Rudofsky slowly replied, “Ryan. Gosling.”
Fans never saw Al’s Pancake World
Lorelei and Rory were known for their love of take out, and fans often saw them at Luke’s, Taylor’s and Weston’s. Both characters were often on the phone ordering from the local pizza restaurant and Chinese place. They also regularly spoke about their love of Al’s Pancake World. Unfortunately, the restaurant never appeared in Gilmore Girls.
